Lesti



May 16, 1961 LEsT| Re. 24,987

ELECTRONIC SWITCHING APPARATUS FOR TELEPHONE SYSTEMS Original Filed May 15, 1948 14 sheets sheet 1 PULSE 3 GENERATOR K09 F G. L f 20 BUSY TONE CONNECTOR FIG. 8. w, h I souRcE 4 I 8 OF RINGING F 3 CURRENT T coNNEcToR Q I FIG. 3.

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LINE L SE CTOR FINDER LE :7 01* PULSE U2 ji GENERATOR I' 1 r -I T i i I a I I I I I Inventor i l I i I :HI: ARNOLD LESTI 4 dttorucg May 16, 1961 A. LESTl Re. 24,987

ELECTRONIC SWITCHING APPARATUS FOR TELEPHONE SYSTEMS Original Filed May 15, 1948 14 Sheets-Sheet 3 INCOMING CALLING CODES A u I ll INVENTOR ARNOLD LESTI BY ATTORNEY May 16, 1961 ELECTRONIC SWITCHING APPARATUS FOR TELEPHONE SYSTEMS A. LESTI Original Filed May 15, 1948 14 Sheets-Sheet 4 V TO OTHER GROWS OF LINE FINDERS w FIG. 4. 400 l LINE A FINDER LINE 1 FINDER 0 407 LINE 1 FINDER 444 407 L NE F FINDER 406 LINE 407 FINDER LINE FINDER l I I I g I 442 g i 7 LINE FINDER 405 A UTILIZATION OUTPUTS TO SELEGTORS Jnomtor ARNOLD LESTI A. LESTI Re. 24,987

ELECTRONIC SWITCHING APPARATUS FOR TELEPHONE SYSTEMS May 16, 1961 14 Sheets-Sheet 5 Original Filed May 15, 194B Snuentor ARNOLD LESTI attorney ELECTRONIC SWITCHING APPARATUS FOR TELEPHONE SYSTEMS Original Filed May 15, 1948 A. LESTI May 16, 1961 14 Sheets-Sheet 6 May 16, 196] LEsTl Re. 24,987

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ARNOLD LESTI attorney May 16, 1961 -n Re. 24,987

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ELECTRONIC SWITCHING APPARATUS FOR TELEPHONE SYSTEMS Original Filed May 15, 1948 14 Sheets-Sheet 11 MODULATOR TUBES INCOMING CALLING CODES L/\ w OUTGOING CALLING CODES Imventor ARNOLD LESTI IQ g B @KLJ M/ Gttomeg A. LESTI Re. 24,987

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ELECTRONIC SWITCHING APPARATUS FOR TELEPHONE SYSTEMS Original Filed May 15, 1948 14 Sheets-Sheet 13 J A, m 907 II W K I MN 1 E L Q @E L B: 2 1

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x ----0 --ZERO vous I P 5 0 --ZERO vousg 3 3 9 ---0 --ZERO voqs E D -25 VOLT I 0 0 I Z 3 4 5 6 7 B 9 10 R0 8 VOLTAGE IN INVENTOR ARNOLD LESTI BY/ ATTORNEY May 16, 1961 A. LESTI 2 ELECTRONIC SWITCHING APPARATUS FOR TELEPHONE SYSTEMS Original Filed May 15, 1948 14 Sheets-Sheet 14 FIG. ll.

DECODER DRIVER INVENTOR ARNOLD LESTI %;N EY

United States Patent ELECTRONIC SWITCHING APPARATUS FOR TELEPHONE SYSTEMS Arnold Lesti, Brooklyn, N.Y., assignor to International Standard Electric Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Original No. 2,619,548, dated Nov. 25, 1952, Ser. No.

27,296, May 15, 1948. Application for reissue Oct- 25, 1960, Ser. No. 64,974

48 Claims. (Cl. 179-18) Matter enclosed in heavy brackets appears in the original patent but forms no part of this reissue specification; matter printed in italics indicates the additions made by reissue.

This invention relates to an improved all-electronic switching system, particularly adapted for telecommunication exchanges.

It has been the practice in the prior art to establish a connection between a calling and a called station, over a system of mechanical, electromechanical or electronic switches which operate in successive stages of selection to establish a private conductive pathway between the stations, and to keep each of the selectors thus employed, or a suitable substitute switch for each selector, fully engaging during the entire conversation. Mechanical and electromechanical switches, particularly when made to operate at high speed and when arranged to do almost continuous service day in and day out are subject to rapid wear and require systematic replacement and servicing. In addition, such equipment is relatively bulky and heavy and occupies much space. While electronic switches are not subject to the same objections, their installation and maintenance are expensive in all their previously suggested embodiments. Furthermore, prior electronic switching systems required either electronic devices specially designed for the purpose, or standard electronic devices but in great profusion for each station served.

It is an object of the present invention to devise a switching method and arrangement in which mechanical and electromechanical selectors may be completely avoided, and in which only a relatively small number of standard electronic devices are employed.

It is a further object of the present invention to arrange for the switching of a large number (of the order of ten or fifteen thousand) stations. Each station has only inexpensive individual equipment at the exchange to connect it to a common medium, e.g. a common metallic network. A number of private time channels, each aliottable to a different call is available over the network to provide for the probable trafiic. Each time channel is afforded by a pulse series seized from a train of frames of pulses. The selection for any one call is achieved over the common network by a coded set of simultaneously occurring pulses which is repeated in the time channel allotted to that call. Individual pulses of the coded set occur only on predetermined conductors, or buses of the network so as to constitute a code representing only the called station. The individual equipment employed to connect each station to the common network is simple and inexpensive, e.g. standard gas tubes and rectifiers, and is adapted to accept from the network only a call which is carried on particular reiterated sets of pulses which represent only that station and to accept it only if the station is idle.

It is a further object of the invention to devise electronic selecting arrangements operable in conjunction with various existing facilities. If, for example, a telephone exchange is to serve the customary subscribers stations, then the selecting arrangement is made controllable by the standard dialing equipment provided at each station.

It is a further object of this invention that it obviate the need for so-called intermediate selectors or selection stages, and that the first and only selector suffice for handling any call in one or more central exchanges, even though they serve a large number of stations, i.e. of the order of ten or fifteen thousand or multiples thereof.

The important functions performed by the communication, e.g. telephone system here disclosed, are as follows:

Each station is connected with the exchange by a line which, at the exchange, terminates in equipment and circuits individual to that particular line. Said line as Well as all other lines and circuits to be discussed, may be either metallic or established through any other medium, e.g. the air. The exchange has equipment common to all the lines and permanently associated with a common network. When a call is initiated at one of the stations its line will become effectively connected with the common equipment or some part thereof. This effective connection is established by means including instrumentalities providing and reiterating the code designation of the calling line. The calling line code is produced by the individual equipment of the calling line in a time channel which is permanently assigned to it. During this time channel and by modulating pulses produced in it, the calling station will dial the designation of the called station to the common equipment. The common equipment will control the impressing on the common network, in a different time channel temporarily allotted to the call thereon for the duration of the call, of a reiterated set of pulses coded in accordance with the designation of the called station. The calling line code will also be impressed on the common network by the common equipment which at the same time transfers it to the temporarily allotted time channel from the time channel permanently assigned to the calling party. Each code, besides being useful for accomplishing a selection, serves as a carrier for speech signals. For selectively receiving calls each line is connected to an incoming circuit of the common network via individual equipment responsive only to the code which is assigned to that particular line. Therefore, the carrier pulses coded by the common equipment in response to dialing and applied by it to the common network will actuate only the individual equipment of the called line and signals will be transmitted on it only to the called line fro-m. the common network. These signals may be of any nature, for instance the pulses comprising the coded carrier may be amplitude modulated in accordancewith the speech of the calling party.

The answering speech, or other answering signals are initially transmitted from the individual equipment of the called party as modulations of the coded carrier which it is receiving and these modulations are transferred under the control of means in the common equipment to the pulses coded in accordance with the designation of the calling station. The calling stations coded carrier is impressed on the common network from the output of said means. Thus, there is established a private two-way channel between the calling and the called stations via the common network.

Once it is effectively connected to a calling station and ready to receive dialing impulses, the common equipment sends dial tone to that station over its permanently assigned time channel, and in a case where the called station is already engaged, the common equipment modulates the coded carrier of the calling station with a busy signal tone whereby the calling station is informed of the busy condition of the called station.

System components will be described which fall into the following classes:

(1) Components individual to each station;

(2) Components common to groups of stations, but privately allotted to an individual station at the start of a call and so retained during the full period of conversation;

(3) Components common to groups of stations but privately allotted to an individual station at the start of a call to be engaged only transiently, for example during a period of time necessary to translate dialing impulses sent out by a calling party into a proper code for reaching the called party; and

(4) Components common to a number of groups of stations, or to all the stations in the exchange, and which do not need to be allotted privately since they can serve a plurality of time channels.

To maximize common use of expensive circuits whenever possible, so-called line finders or any other timechannel seizing means are used for responding when a station is calling to connect it with a common component and for disengaging the component to make it available for use by another calling station at the completion of the call, or even sooner if the component is not needed for the full duration of the communication, e.g. conversation. One common component which thus becomes engaged and disengaged is a component which serves to translate dialing impulses into a called code. While this form of the invention may be preferred and has certain obvious advantages, it would also be possible to employ individual code generating equipment for each station.

The so-called line finder is an electronic device adapted to seize the pulse series, ie the time channel, which is permanently assigned to a given station and which becomes available for seizure whenever that station is calling. Each station must have a separate time channel available for seizure by a line finder for the purpose of establishing a private channel from the calling station to a common component for generating a called code in response to dialing. However, the total number of stations will greatly exceed the number of time channels which can be made available by pulse multiplexing. Therefore the stations are divided into groups limited to perhaps 200. Accordingly, each line finder is not com mon to all of the stations in the exchange but only to one group and the number of line finders commoned to that group must be adequate to carry the probable traffic afforded by it.

Thus, a given station in one group may have on a first common network the same time channel that is allotted to another station in a different group having a separate first common network. The speech and/or signals carried on either first common network will not disturb the privacy of those carried on the other even if they are in the same channel. After a station has dialed a number of sending impulses over its private channel on the first common network to actuate common code generating equipment for setting up a code on a second network common to a larger subdivision or even to the whole exchange, that code will be released in a free time channel on the second connection network which is not related to the time channel assigned to the calling station on the first common network. A called code set up on the sec ond common network will be repeated at a supersonic rate in a free time channel that has been seized. The pulses which afford this time channel come from a common pulse generator providing enough channels for the probable peak traffic in the whole exchange via a pulse finder associated with the code generating equipment. Since the code is reiterated throughout the call, while the dialing of the called number is only a transient phenomenon, it is necessary not only that dialing be translated into a new form, i.e. coding, but that the resulting code be stored so that it will continue to be repeated until the end of the conversation. For this purpose, the code generating equipment employs for the called code a set of gas discharge tubes variably operated to set up and store the code which is transiently represented to it.

Modulation could be carried on separate accompanying pulses with either pulse-time, amplitude, or code modulation. In the embodiment shown herein, the modulation is carried simultaneously by the several series of synchronously recurring pulses which together comprise the reiterated coded pulse set. Before the modulation reaches the second common network, it leaves central exchange equipment individual to the calling station as amplitude modulation of the train of pulses (or pulse series) affording the time channel permanently assigned to that station on the first common network. Since ordinarily the pulses in this train will be out of phase with the reiterations of the coded pulse set released onto the second common network, it would be difficult to effect a direct transfer of the modulation carried on the train of pulses to the reiterated coded set of pulses. Therefore, the modulation component is first detected, turning it back into a simple audio wave which is thereafter readily impressed on the reiterated coded pulse set without regard to its phase.

A number of basic components are disclosed in detail. These are combinable in the manner shown herein to form a complete exchange. A system for handling any number of subscribers may be produced simply by using appropriate numbers of each of the components and interrelating them in the manner shown.

THE DRAWINGS These basic circuits are represented in the various figures of the drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a block diagram representing the exchange system;

Fig. 2 is a diagram of a single line circuit in which one subscribers line terminates;

Fig. 3 is a circuit diagram of a connector common to a great many or all the subscribers line circuits and fed from, and feeding into, sets of bus bars of the first and second common networks;

Fig. 4 is a block diagram of a group of line finders associated with one group of subscribers lines, showing the chain circuit interconnection, the common input, and the individual utilization outputs;

Fig. 5 is a circuit diagram of a single line finder;

Fig. 6 is the circuit diagram of a sender register common to a group of subscribers lines which is transiently engaged by a calling line during dialing. After being alloted to a particular calling station it translates the dialing impulses, carried as modulations on the pulse series of that station, into a set of direct potentials temporarily stored in a number of condensers in accordance with the called number, the potential stored in each condenser representing one or more of the digits in the called number;

Fig. 6a is a block diagram of the translator portion of the sender, and a schematic diagram illustrating the circuit details of a representative one of the sections of the translator. Each translator section receives on a single input an impulse whose amplitude is proportional to the potential stored in one of the condensers of the register portion of the sender, and in response thereto, it produces on a group of outputs a portion of the called code;

Fig. 6b is a circuit diagram of an alternate embodiment of a sender register in which each condenser receives a charge in accordance with two successively dialed digits rather than with only one;

Fig. 6c shows a modified circuit arrangement for a sec tion of a translator;

Fig. 7 is a circuit diagram of a common component, the decoder driver which receives a coded set of pulses from a set of main bus bars of the second network and processes them for application to the decoders of all the line circuits in a number of groups of all of the line circuits in the entire exchange, to the end that the code will operate a particular decoder to gate itself into the line circuit of the station which it designates. The decoder driver has as many inputs as there are elements in the code and a pair of outputs for each input, it being adapted to produce a pulse on one of the outputs of each pair when the code element received on the corresponding input is a pulse and a pulse on the other when the code element received is the absence of a pulse;

Fig. 8 is a circuit diagram of a common component, the busy connector. When a subscriber raises his handset, his line circuit sends out over an outgoing circuit of the second common network a reiterated coded set of pulses designating his own station, i.e. a calling code. Normally this set of pulses serves as a coded carrier on which the called party may impress his answering speech signals, after he is first reached by his own called code, so that the answering speech may be selectively carried back to the calling party. However, a busy party is prevented from being reached by his own called code, and therefore he can not impress his answering called-tocalling speech signals on the calling code. In such a case the busy connector modulates the calling code with a busy signal tone which is thereby selectively carried back to the line circuit of the calling party to inform him of the busy condition of the called line;

Fig. 9 is a circuit diagram of a selector, a component common to a group of subscribers lines but individually allotted to any calling line in the group for the duration of a call which it initiates. One selector is permanently connected to each line finder which is efiective to keep it engaged for as long a time as that line finder continues to hold onto a seized pulse series, i.e. until the calling subscriber hangs up his handset. The code set up by the translator (Fig. 6a) is transferred to a set of gas tubes in the selector where it is represented in that some of the gas tubes are ignited and others are not. There is in the selector a second set of gas tubes for similarly representing the calling subscribers code which it receives from his line circuit over an outgoing circuit of the first network. A component of the selector seizes an idle pulse series, representing a free time channel available in the second network and employs each pulse of this series to gate out to outgoing circuits of that network one pulse from each ignited gas tube of each set of tubes, thus producing simultaneous sets of pulses comprising, respectively, the called partys code and the calling partys code. At the output of the selector the called code appears for the first time in the form of a reiterated set of pulses and the selector directly produces it in the allotted free time channel. On the other hand the calling code which was already in the form of a reiterated set of pulses when it entered the selector is transferred from the assigned time channel of the calling party to the same alloted free time channel.

Fig. 9a is a circuit diagram of a portion of the pulse finder of the selector;

Fig. 10 is a family of four characteristic curves, respectively showing the output voltages which appear individually on four output branches of one section of a translator (Fig. 6a) for ten different input voltages which might be received on its common input lead. Each of the characteristic curves represents a plot of output voltages vs. input voltages. The combination of output voltages which will be produced on the four output leads for any assumed input voltage may be obtained by drawing a vertical line starting from the point on the horizontal coordinate which represents that input voltage and intersecting all of the characteristic curves. The voltage on each output may be read from the vertical coordinate by extending to it a horizontal reference line starting from the point where the vertical line intersects the characteristic curve for that output. It will be seen that for the family of curves shown a different output code will be produced for each of ten successive upward steps of one volt each; and

Fig. 11 is a block diagram of a code adapter.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF OPERATION The over-all operation of this system is best understood by reference to Fig. 1. Any station can communicate with any other either as a calling or as a called station. However, the transmission paths followed between two stations will be somewhat different depending on which of the two parties originated the call.

in Fig. 1 there are represented several sets of codecarrying buses which are common to the whole exchange and comprise outgoing and incoming circuits of the second common network. In addition there is represented a group of conductors and sets of buses 114-121 which comprises an example of a first common network afiording common transmission media to be used by a group of stations to each of which is permanently assigned a different time channel. To distinguish the sets of buses of the second network they are represented by heavy lines. Each heavy line represents a parallel set of conductors such as a group of fourteen coaxial transmission lines. The sets of buses of the second network are sometimes referred to herein as sets of main buses. The physical extension of the main buses will depend upon the physical arrangement of the various components within the central exchange. Accordingly, if coded pulses must travel for a relatively long distance, for example from a group of selectors on one floor of the central exchange to a decoder driver on a different floor, the main buses interconnecting them may be runs of coaxial cable. Similarly, where a call is routed to another central office on a coded set of pulses acting as a carrier, the interofiice trunk would consist of a set of coaxial transmission lines. However, in many portions of the system, for example in connecting a group of selectors to a set of main bus bars, the equip ment will preferably be grouped closely together and sets of code carrying conductors and even the main buses in those portions of the circuit will consist of short leads of simple wire connections.

Subscribers lines 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106 extending individually from subscribers stations to the central exchange terminate in individual line circuits whose details are illustrated in Fig. 2. The line circuit of subscribers line 101 is indicated at 107, that of 102 at 108, and that of the other four lines represented in Fig. l at 109, 110, 111 and 112, respectively. The conductors and sets of buses 114-121 are multiplied to difierent inputs and outputs and sets of inputs and outputs of a group of say 200 subscribers line circuit represented by the six, 107112, shown in Fig. 1. They individually feed into and are fed from these inputs and outputs and sets of inputs and outputs of any line circuits of the group which are involved in calls, in certain cases in the private time channels permanently assigned to the calling ones of those line circuits and in others in time channels temporarily allotted to the calls. The maximum number of line circuits which can be grouped together will depend on the maximum number of time channel designating pulses which can be crowded into a single period at the repetition rate of the individually assigned pulse series. The pulses in these series must have a supersonic repetition rate, or at least a repetition rate high enough to be cut olf by the response characteristics of audiocarrying elements of the circuit and thus to be inaudible to the subscribers. Since pulse-carrier multiplexing is well known it is unnecessary further to describe design principles for determining how many subscirbers lines will be grouped together.

A delay line 117, comprising 200 sections in series and an output tap at the end of each section is fed from a generator 113 which produces pulses having a repetition rate of perhaps 10 kc. These pulses are fed into each of the line circuits over a different tap as a pulse series in a predetermined diflerent time channel. The exact manner in which the pulses from generator 113 are distributed to the several line circuits in different time channels, is not an essential part of the invention. To supply time channels for a group of two hundred line circuits each pulse should have a duration of the order of .25 microsecond and each section of delay line 117 should produce a delay of .5 microsecond if it is desired to provide .25 microsecond intervals between adjacent time channels. By feeding the pulse series from each tap to the pulse receiving input of a line circuit over a cathode follower, instead of directly, the attenuation at each tap will be very slight and the input pulse series from generator 113 will succeed in passing along the full length of the delay line to supply all of the line circuits with pulses.

The input into any single line circuit consists of a kc. pulse series in a private time channel. When no station of a particular group is calling, the pulses originating in generator 113 will not get much further than the pulse input terminals of the various line circuits. However, when one of them is calling, e.g. when the subscriber thereat takes the hand set off its cradle, the pulse series entering that stations associated line circuit from delay line 117 will be routed through the line circuit to bus 118 of the first network where it will be available for seizure by an idle line finder. In due course and during successive parts of the call this pulse series will be amplitude modulated by dial tone, by the calling subscriber's dialing impulses, and finally by his voice.

This assigned pulse series of the calling line will be seized from bus 118 by an idle one of a group of line finders presented in Fig. l by a group of three blocks 122, 123, 124. These line finders are fed in series over a chain circuit which is connected to bus 118 on its input end. The number of line finders required for a group of 200 subscribers line circuits will depend upon the probable peak traffic within that group. For a typical 10.000 line exchange about sixteen line finders per group of 200 subscribers should suffice. In such an exchange there will be 50 groups of 200 subscribers lines and line finders of the order of 50 l6=800. The line finder which seizes a calling pulse series from the first common network will deliver the pulses to its associated selector 125, 126 or 127. Both the line finder and its associated selector will remain engaged during the entire call. Once the pulse series of a calling line has been seized by one line finder, none of the other line finders can seize the same pulse series.

On bus 118 this pulse series is available for seizure not only by a line finder but also by the pulse seizing circuit of a sender 128 or 129. The pulse series is routed to the senders from bus 118 through the circuits of sender pulse suppressor 130. The number of senders required for a group of line circuits depends partly on the probable peak traffic within that group and partly on the time during which a sender must remain engaged to perform its function. The total number of senders required for a 10,000 line office employing regular dialing equipment would be about 90 or 100 or about two for each group of 200 lines. If keys instead of regular dials are employed at the stations, the average time of engagement of a sender would be shorter and therefore a reduced number would suifice.

Each sender is equipped with a pulse seizing circuit of its own, i.e. a circuit like that of a line finder. This circuit can only seize one pulse series at a time and when it has done so no other sender will be able to seize the same pulse series.

The sender first makes use of a seized pulse series for privately sending dial tone back to the calling party and then for receiving the sequentially dialed impulses designating the called party. It registers all of the dialed digits and thereafter translates them into a code representation which it does not retain but sends to the selectors 125, 126, 127. The selector associated with the engaged line finder will seize and retain the code representation. In addition it will send the pulse series of the calling station (which it receives from its associated line finder) to pulse suppressor to disengage the sender by blocking the input to its pulse seizing circuit in the time channel of the calling station. At any given time suppressor 130 will receive a number of pulse series which depends on the number of engaged selectors, i.e. the number of simultaneous calls, and at that given time it will act to block the input to the series connected pulse seizing circuits of the senders 128, 129 in the time channels of all of the calling stations involved in the calls. Once a sender has been disengaged from a call it is free to seize a calling pulse series in any of the free time channels.

Since the sender feeds dial tone only to the one first common network of the group of line circuits which it serves (since it does not feed it to a circuit, such as the second common network, which is connected to all of the line circuits in the entire exchange) no code is necessary to keep the dial tone from other than the calling party. The dial tone is carried on the pulse series which is assigned to the calling station and therefore it can be fed to all of the line circuits of this group over their first common network and yet be accepted only by the correct calling line circuit. This is accomplished by the use of a coincidence circuit in each line circuit whereby it accepts back from the senders only the dial-tone modulated pulse series which is in its own time channel.

For code representations produced by senders of the type shown herein if n equals the number of elements in each code then the number of difierent codes which will be possible will equal 2 and n will also equal the number of buses required in each set of code carrying buses. As will be described below each code eventually will reach the incoming circuits of all the first common networks in the exchange and it will be selectively accepted at one line circuit in one first common network, i.e. at the one line circuit which that code represents. Thus, in addition to the use of different time channels for distinguishing between a limited number of line circuits within a single group, different codes are individually assigned to the line circuits for distinguishing between all of them in the exchange. This will be possible no matter how large a number of them there are simply by choosing a proper value for n. In fact, an extremely wide range of selection will be available even if n is relatively small, i.e. even with the use of a relatively small number of code elements. For example, if the code consists of 14 elements the number of different line circuits that can be selected is 16.383. Actually 2 equals 16,384, but in the present embodiment certain of the circuits are so arranged that no code can be utilized unless it has at least one pulse-element. Therefore, there is just one code which is not available for use. It is the one in which every element would consist of the absence of a pulse. Thus, the number of different selections which are possible is reduced to 16,383.

A pulse generator 131 feeds reiterated frames of pulses to a bus, of the second common network, which is connected to several, or all, of the groups of selectors in the exchange. These pulses afford private time channels, which may be individually selected by pulse finders included in the selectors, and allotted to individual calls, for use in the second common network. A time channel so allotted will not be related to the time channel permanently assigned to the calling party and applied to his line circuit over the first common network from pulse generator 11.3. Pulse generator 131 may be common to a large number of groups of subscribers lines or to all the groups thereof in the entire exchange. For example, in a 10,000 line exchange in which peak tratfic of about 4-00 simultaneous calls is expected it would be desirable, if practicable, to use a single pulse generator 131 producing 10 kc. frames of pulses, each containing 400 pulses. As

will be more fully explained below, there must be a sufficient interval between successive pulses in the frame so that at another point of the circuit a pulse may be delayed slightly more than its own duration so as to fit in between its normal position and the position of the next pulse in the frame. Thus, two adjacent time channels will be made available for two-way conversation. This imposes an even more rigid requirement in the matter of designing pulse generator 131, namely that the pulses must be only about half as wide as they would be were it not for this provision.

Where it is not feasible to use a single pulse generator for providing all of the necessary time channels for the traflic, two second common networks may be employed, each ted with frames of time channel pulses from a separate pulse generator like 131. Means must be provided for gating into the selectors, for seizure by their pulses finders, pulses provided by a second pulse generator 131 whenever all the pulses of the first generator 131 have been seized by other selectors and for switching the coded outputs of the selectors to the duplicate or spare second common network. A circuit meeting these requirements may readily be designed by one skilled in the art on the basis of the principles of operation of the various components shown herein.

Each selector comprises a pulse seizing circuit similar to the circuit of a line finder (Fig. When a line finder seizes a pulse series in the first common network it delivers this series to its associated selector where it is used to produce a biasing voltage which prepares the pulse seizing circuit of the selector to seize a pulse series in the second common network. A little later dialing will be completed and the sender will transfer to the selector its called code representation which will serve to set code-producing circuits in the selector. As soon as this is accomplished the pulse series seized by the selector from the second network will become efiective to gate out onto an outgoing set of main buses of the second common network sets of pulses embodying the called code and occurring in the time channel of the pulses seized from 131, which channel thus becomes allotted to the call.

The second common network comprises at least four sets of main buses; one set 132 for carrying outgoing coded sets of pulses denoting the called part (this is the set of buses upon which the selector discharges the sets of pulses referred to above), a set 133 for outgoing coded sets of pulses denoting the calling party, a set 135 for incoming codes denoting the called party and a set 136 for incoming codes denoting the calling party.

Both outgoing codes are produced in response to actions of the calling party. His own code is instantaneously produced by his line circuit as a result of his raising his hand set, and the called paitys code is later set up as a result of his dialing of the partys number. The outgoing called codes will carry speech impressed upon them by the calling party.

For each call the calling and called codes sent out from a selector are in the same time channel. Therefore to avoid interference the calling code is sent out on a separate set of bus bars 133. This code at this point does not carry any speech or other modulations. However, it is fed from buses 133 to the connector 138, Fig. l where later it will be modulated with the called partys answering speech. To this end the connector is arranged to exploit the fact that the called code is synchronous with the calling code. The called code, of course, is accepted at the called partys line circuit at which the modulations representing the calling party's speech are detected and fed to the called partys line. The line circuit is further so arranged that whenever, during lulls in the conversation of the calling party, the called party responds, his answering speech will modulate a pulse series produced from the called code and will be carried thereon out of the line circuit to connector 138 which thereupon acts to transfer the answering speech modulations to the calling code. It is particularly convenient to do this since the two codes are synchronous. After the calling code has been thus modulated it is routed out of connector 138 to the same set of main bus bars 132 which is carrying outgoing called codes (and in particular the outgoing called code for this call) and it will thereafter find its way to the calling subscribers line circuit just as though he were being called with that code. However, at this point both the calling and called codes for a particular call occur on the same set of bus bars and therefore they cannot be permitted to continue to occupy exactly the same time channel. For this reason connector 138 is further so arranged that it slightly delays the pulses comprising the calling codes so that each calling code will fall in the interval between the time channel of the called code used for the same call and the next time channel provided by generator 131.

The calling code set up by the calling subscriber's line circuit initially appears in the first common network on a set of bus bars generally indicated by the reference numeral 119 and shown in the drawing as a single line. The sets of pulses comprising the calling subscribers code occur, of course, in the time channel permanently assigned to that subscriber. The selector which handles the call will, however, change the phase of the calling code pulses so that they will occur in the time channel which it seized from generator 131 for use in the second common network. Any calling subscribers code which appears on bus 119 will be transmitted through amplifiers 134 to the group of selectors l25127. The selector associated with a line finder which has seized the calling subscribers pulse series will accept the calling code which is synchronous with it and will utilize it for igniting appropriate ones of a set of gaseous discharge tubes. Thereafter it will utilize the pulse series which it seized in the second common network to gate out the calling code to the set of main bus bars 133.

The calling and called outgoing codes may be transmitted over their respective sets of main bus bars (coaxial cables) 132, 133 to a distant exchange which operates according to the present system. However, for completing calls between subscribers in the same central exchange the set of main buses .133 for outgoing calling codes is connected to the set of main buses 136 for incoming calling codes. Similarly, the main outgoing called buses 132 are directly connected within the exchange to the main incoming called buses 135.

The set of main incoming called code buses feeds into the decoder driver 137. If the trafilc for a given central exchange can be handled without the need for overflow or spare sets of buses, i.e. if the probable peak number of calls is not too much greater than the number of time channels which can be carried on a single set of buses, then a single decoder driver will suflice. The function of driver 137 is to translate each received code into a form which is suitable for actuating the decoder of a line circuit. Driver 137 has one input connected to each bus in the set of main buses 135 for incoming called codes and it has a pair of outputs for each input. Its function is to produce a pulse on a first one of the pair of outputs when the code element received on the corresponding single input is a pulse and for producing a pulse on a second one when that code element is represented by the absence of any pulse. Each line circuit includes a decoder having it inputs which are connected over the incoming circuit of the first common network to a predetermined different combination of n of the n 2 outputs of the driver, the combination including one output of each pair thereof. Thus, when the driver receives the code of a particular line circuit it will deliver to the decoder thereof a reiterated full set of n pulses, i.e. of as many simultaneously-occurring pulses as the number of elements in the code. Each decoder is so arranged that it will be actuated only when it receives pulses simultaneously on all of its inputs. This will occur when driver 137 receives the correct input code for designating the line circuit of that decoder even though the code as received by the driver is in a form in which it does not include a full set of n pulses, i.e. the form in which it is made up of n elements certain ones of which will be represented by the absence of a pulse.

The output of the decoder in any line circuit consists of a pulse series carrying the speech modulations of a subscriber engaged in the call. In due course these modulations will be detected in the line circuit and transmittc' over the subscribers line to his station. However, before this occurs the pulse series is temporarily transferred out of the line circuit over the first of a pair of buses of the first network which together are represented as a single line 115 in Fig. l, and is sent to the connector 138 which amplifies it and returns it over the second bus of the pair 115. Within the line circuit the amplified pulse series is routed to a demodulator whose audio output is sent to the station connected with this line circuit. The pulse series returning from the connector, even though it passes over a bus which is multiplied to all of the line circuits of the group (one of the buses of the pair 115), will not be received by any other line circuit because a coincidence circuit is provided in each line circuit which rejects all the pulse series returned from connector 138 except the one which is in synchronism with the outgoing pulse series sent to it from that same line circuit.

As soon as a decoder has accepted a series of full sets of 11 pulses representing the called line, some of the energy of its output single pulse series is translated into a bias for readjusting the decoder to operate at a higher signal level. This does not disable the decoder from retaining the accepted series since the new requirement is immediately satisfied by utilization of the amplified pulse series being returned from the connector. If during this period of time a third station seeks to call the same called station and, therefore, the same called code reaches the same line circuit and its decoder, the level of pulses in the code will not be initially at a sutficiently high level to operate the readjusted decoder. Under such circumstances, the busy tone connector 139 will be actuated to impress a busy signal tone as modulation on the calling code of the station which is seeking to break in. This modulated code will be returned from the busy connector to a set of main common buses and eventually to the last mentioned calling station to reveal the busy condition of the called line.

When it is desired to establish connections between two central offices then the two outgoing sets of main buses 132, 133 will give access to all of the outgoing trunk repeaters. Where it is necessary, the code combinations may be employed to operate suitable outgoing repeaters for translating the code into signals appropriate for the called office. The called office will send a signal to the incoming ofiice trunk repeaters which will translate the signal into the appropriate pulse code on the two incoming sets of main buses 135, 136. The manner in which these alternative operations can be effected will be clear from the detailed description of component parts which is to follow.

When a train of full sets of n pulses is first accepted by a decoder the single output pulse series which it produces in response thereto will be applied to another por tion of its line circuit for firing a gas tube which applies ringing current directly to the called subscribers line. This gas tube will be extinguished when the called subscriber raises his set to receive a call.

it is in large exchanges that the greatest efficiency is obtainable in the utilization of code-producing circuits, code-transmission media, and code-accepting circuits. This is so because the number of possible different codes, 2. will increase very rapidly as the number of elements constituting each code is increased above a small number such as 9 or 10. Thus, whereas the system will require 12 a 14 element code to afford 16,384 different codes, the addition of a single element will raise the number of possible combinations to twice 16,384 or 32,768. It is possible further to increase the number of possible combinations by choosing from more than two possible conditions to represent each element of the code. For example, in contrast to the present illustrative embodiment in which each element of a code either takes the form of the presence or the absence of a pulse on a given conductor in a given time channel, it is possible to embody the present invention in a system in which each element of a code can take any one of a plurality of forms. The formula for the number of different codes in which each element may have r different conditions is r. In general the driver must be designed to include a group of r outputs of each input and to produce a pulse on only a particular one of these outputs for each different one of r conditions which may obtain for the code element received on this input. The decoders are the same irrespective of the value of r but the number of possible different connections to the driver for each input of a decoder will depend on r, i.e. will equal it. Only obvious changes need to made to the sender-translator (Fig. 6a) to adopt it for different values of r. And as to a selector, in general it should be designed so that the various ones of r different conditions that are set up or represented in the translator for different elements of a code will be retained at the outputs of the selector from which the code will issue in its final form, for example as reiterated sets of pulses of different amplitudes (including zero, if desired) and/or of opposite polarities. In the embodiment shown herein one decoder driver 137 translates into the proper form for operating the decoders the codes produced by many groups of selectors. This arrangement permits two economies: (1) it simplifies the circuits of say 800 selectors; (2) it makes it possible for the sets of main bus bars to be limited to including only as many individual buses (n) as the number of elements in the code instead of r times as many. However, if desired the common driver may be replaced by means in each selector for directly producing onto an enlarged set of main buses 132 (comprising n 2 or n r buses) reiterated full sets of 11 pulses representing individual codes in that the 11 pulses of each code are carried on a particular combination of n buses in the enlarged set thereof.

On the other hand, the code need not consist of sets of pulses individually carried on different buses. Instead, the pulses may be superimposed on different carrier frequencies and transmitted over a single bus or through the air. The code elements could be transferred from the individual channels provided by the different carries to different metallic conductors by the use of filters and tuned circuits Well known in the art of carrier multiplexing, these different conductors individually feeding the n inputs of the driver.

Moreover, in a small exchange where the traffic is so light as to require only a fraction of the available time channels, it would be feasible to carry the individual code elements in different time channels over a single bus instead of in the same time channel over a set of buses. Each call would utilize a group of n time channels. The number of such groups which can be provided by each frame of pulses produced by generator 131 will determine the peak volume of traffic, the possible number of groups being equal to the number of pulses in each frame divided by the number of elements in each code. The circuits which will be required to use this type of coding will be obvious to those familiar with the art of multiplexing.

Where for any reason the number of buses in each main set must be kept small it will be feasible to use a smaller number of elements in the code but a larger number of conditions for each element, for example. in the formula 1', r might be made equivalent to 3 instead of 2 and n to only 9 instead of 14. 

